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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

"If we have nothing to die for, we have nothing to live for."

Today God showed me how precious the life is that He gives to us, and how we must make the most of every day to share the gospel, spread His love to others, and glorify Him. How we must let others know that we love them.

I have learned the lesson: do not take this life for granted.

I have loved and lost. I have lost a grandparent and several friends. I have known others who have loved and lost. One of my friends lost her father last year in an accident, and almost lost her mother and sister as well. Another woman I have befriended laid 2 of her grown children to rest before she was old.

I am sure that they, like I, thought that the time would be longer. I am sure my friend imagined that she would come home, have dinner with her family, and then be tucked into bed by her father that night. I am sure that when the woman's son went to war, she thought that he would return, safe and sound. I know she hoped it, prayed it. They, like I, did not know the time or the hour when death would overtake those close to them.

But then, I remembered (we all remembered) that these things are in God's hands.

I found a very good quote by Stonewall Jackson on this topic:

"..My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as I am in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me. Captain, that is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave."

There have been countless times when, if it were not for God's intervention, I probably would have and should have died. But God knew it was not my time yet.

God fixed the times for man to live and die long before we were ever born. He knows the work that He has for us, and how long it will take for us to accomplish it. We are safe in His hands, because He has ordained our every day and will not take us home a moment too soon or too late.

* * *

"If we have nothing to die for, we have nothing to live for."

I was pondering this statement, and I decided to write a personal mission statement. This is what the Christian life is about, and this is what I want my life to be about.

1. To glorify God in all areas and in everything that I do
2. To spread the gospel and proclaim God's word and invite the captives to be freed.
3. To be a godly example of Christ to those near me.
4. To love others as Christ loved.

Who are you living for? "Choose this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." ~Joshua 24:15~

Our bodies may die, but our souls are an eternal thing. If we are serving the LORD, someday when we die, we will stand before His presence and enter into His Kingdom where we will be with Him forever. If we deny Him, when we die we will descend into the lake of burning fire (commonly known as Hell), where we will be tortured forever. "Where you go" is not affected by your works, but whether or not you have accepted the grace of Jesus Christ and placed your faith in Him.

If we are serving the devil, we will quickly discover that what he promised is false, and our sins will be punished, as they deserve to be. But if we are serving the LORD, we have victory over sin and death, because God raised His only Son from the dead. During the 3 days when He lay in the tomb, Jesus descended into Hell, beat sin, beat death, and emerged victorious.

So can we be.

If you have not decided what to do with your life, (whom shall you serve?)
please make up your mind. The choice is yours (but I’m rooting for you to
choose Jesus.) Like Stonewall Jackson said, we ought to be ready. But we
ought to live Victoriously, because we have the Spirit of God in us, making
us brave. Death could not hold Him down.

If you have accepted Christ, please, don’t hesitate! Go out and do what he
commanded. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, the
three in one, and surely I shall be with you until the very end of the
age.” (the last chapter of Matthew). Don’t waste any time! You have only as
much as God gives you. Live every moment to glorify Him!

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"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of a man does not produce the righteousness that God requires." ~ James 1:19-21

"So whether you eat, or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." ~1 Corinthians 10:31

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;A time to kill, and a time to heal;A time to break down, and a time to build up;A time to weep, and a time to laugh;A time to mourn, and a time to dance;A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;A time to seek, and a time to lose;A time to keep, and a time to cast away;A time to tear, and a time to sew;A time to keep silent, and a time to speak;A time to love, and a time to hate;A time for war, and a time for peace.